—CHAPTER 8 UP— A Sakura and Syaoran reincarnation fic. When all seems lost, there is still hope, though precious few can find it as the world crumbles around them. But salvation may be found in a legend, and a mysterious deathbed prophecy.

AN: Woo, new
fic. Go me. Majorly different from my other stuff.
I've never written anything like this before, so we'll see how it turns out.
cross fingers Enjoy. I don't own CCS. I also don't own the title song of this
fic which, as you probably guessed, is called "The New World." It's the title
song for an off Broadway show called Songs
for a New World, and is therefore owned by Jason Robert Brown.

This
takes place after the
Star/Sakura Card saga. Our heroes are about sixteen, seventeen-ish, at
the beginning
of this tale. Touya doesn't live at home anymore (duh!). Syaoran and
Sakura are a couple, Eriol is still in Tomoeda. The whole Kaho
thing with Eriol never happened—she's still alive, though, but she's
abroad,
not in Japan. Okay? Okay.

Chapter One—The Birth of a
Legend

She clutched her wand and looked frantically around.
It was night, but the park was illuminated by the moon and the stars. It was
enough so that she could see without using a Card, like she had used GLOW at
the festival that one night.

The only sounds she could hear were dry leaves
crunching beneath her shoes, and her heart hammering in a frantic attempt to
leap out of her chest. And the faint, almost inaudible cry of the wind.

King Penguin loomed above her. Normally just a large
piece of playground equipment, with the moonlight behind him, he suddenly
looked foreboding and terrifying. She was scared.

Where am I? Where is everyone? Syaoran-kun?

A twig snapped nearby, and she whirled to face it,
tightening her grasp on her wand. She was holding onto it so tightly that her
knuckles were white, and starting to hurt. But she couldn't loosen her grasp.
She couldn't back down—not now. There was far too much at stake.

Her eyes darted back and forth, searching desperately
for the source of the noise. Her tongue slid over dry lips, and tiny beads of
perspiration began to dot her forehead. This was worse than anything she had
ever been through. And she was all alone. So alone…

A yell pierced the air, and she spun again to face the
direction it had come from. There was nothing, but the trees that lined the
park. She could see nothing, but her instincts were screaming at her, telling
her not to trust her eyes. Appearances could be deceiving, and everything she
was seeing and feeling were leading her to believe that such was the case here.
There was more than met the eye…

And she never went against her instincts. Since fully
coming into her magic a mere year ago and learning to use it, she had become a
force to be reckoned with. Her gut feelings, fine-tuned by her magic, were
almost infalliable. Very rarely was she wrong when she had a premonition about
something.

Right now, that sixth sense she had so carefully
developed was telling her to run as far away from that awful place as she could
get. Her mind was sending up flares of the old law of the animal kingdom, the
fight or flight principle. And everything within her was telling her to choose
flight.

But she couldn't leave! Not now!

She could sense it. Whatever it was that was so nearby
was powerful, but hiding it. But what she was sensing sent chills running up
and down her spine. It was terrible, so horribly evil. But where was it?

There was a
rustling noise—it was the only warning she had. Then something heavy hit the
ground immediately beside her. Instinctively, she ducked away, putting several
feet of space between herself and the missile that had most likely been aimed
at her. Brandishing her wand, she gripped a Card firmly between her thumb and
forefinger. It was warm, and she could almost feel it moving, as though alive,
and more than ready to leap to her command should she summon it.

She looked down at the object that had been so close
to striking her. Before she could stop herself, wand and Card
fell from her gloved fingers, and
she clasped both hands over her mouth, barely stifling an ear-piercing scream
of horror.

She stumbled back a few steps, finally tripping and
landing hard on her back as she stared at it, shaking from head to toe. One
hand clambored along the ground, feeling around, until it grasped the narrow
handle of her wand. But her other hand stayed clamped firmly over her mouth to
hold back further screams. Waves of nausea slammed against her, almost to the
point that she felt ready to just pass out. Tears streamed unbidden from her
eyes, rolling down her cheeks, soaking into her glove.

Her hand moved away from her mouth enough for her to
stutter out something. But in the dream, though her lips moved, she heard
nothing.

A white light erupted behind her, and she spun to face
it. But it was too late, and the blinding brightness engulfed her. It burned
her, swallowing her in white-blue flames. She couldn't breathe or move.
All she could feel was the excruciating pain, licking at her as the fire did…and
she was falling, falling, falling, as the sound of high-pitched cackling echoed
in her ears…

"NO!"

With
a single screamed word, Kinomoto Sakura sat up in bed.

She
gasped desperately for air, trying with all her might to force much needed
oxygen into her lungs. But even her body seemed to be against her. Cold, clammy
sweat clung to her; she was drenched in it, yet she felt like she was burning
up. Her hair was matted to the back of her neck. Her entire body was shaking
like a leaf tossed in a gale.

She
knew no one would come upstairs to see what the fuss was. Her father wasn't
home—he was out on an important dig all week. And her onii-chan was gone; he
had moved out a few years before, after finishing college. She missed him, of
course, but at times like this, is was nice to not
have to explain to anyone who may or may not understand.

Touya
was usually pretty good about listening to his sister's occasional prophetic
dreams, but sometimes he just didn't seem to understand what a burden it could
be to know when something would happen, usually something awful. She had
forseen an accident on an expedition that had landed her father in the hospital
for two weeks—and people who didn't have that kind of power couldn't usually understand
how sickening it was to have to sit by the phone and simply wait for a phone
call that you already knew was coming, and knew what was going to be said.

A
little groan came from her desk, and a second later, a little golden stuffed
animal flew out of the bottom drawer and perched itself on top of her desk.
"Hmm…" it rubbed sleepily at its eyes. "Sakura, what'sa
matter? What time it is?"

She
turned a little to glance over her shoulder at the clock. "It's about two-thirty
in the morning,"

"What's
wrong?" Keroberos, the mighty Beast of the Seal, asked with a yawn.

"I
had a dream again, Kero-chan," she sighed.

"Again?"
he said in disbelief.

"This
one was different, though," Sakura pushed the blankets away and swung her legs
over the side of the bed so that she was facing her Sun Guardian. "It wasn't
like the ones I used to have, with Tokyo Tower or Tsukimine Shrine. This was worse."

"What
was it about?"

Sakura's
forehead creased in thought as she tried to remember what she had dreamt. "I
was in the park. By King Penguin. It was night, and
the moon was out, and lots of stars. I was alone, but there was something out
there in the trees. I mean, I couldn't see anything, but I could feel it. It
was so awful…and I kept wondering where Syaoran-kun was."

Kero
rolled his eyes at the mention of the accursed "Chinese gaki" (even after all
this time, he and the kid still had issues—though Li Syaoran really wasn't a
kid anymore), but held his peace so that she could continue her story. But she
stopped. An uneasy silence fell over the darkened bedroom.

Finally,
the small magical beast's temper broke. "And?"

He
was startled when she jumped at the sound of his voice. She looked at him and
shook her head, confusion marring her delicate features. "I—I can't remember
what happened. I think there was something wrong, but I didn't know what. I was
scared…and something was happening." She frowned. "I can only remember what I
felt, but not what actually happened."

"It's
not like you to forget a dream like this," Kero commented as he folded his tiny
arms over his chest. And it was the truth. Ever since she had come into her
powers, Sakura's dreams of premonition had become more and more commonplace,
and had foretold events ranging from pop quizzes at school to a recent gale
that had caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to buildings and property.
But she had rarely forgotten what such a dream had indicated.

"I
don't know, Kero-chan," she shrugged. Immediately after waking up, she had been
wide awake. Now, the more she tried to think about things, the more her mind
demanded that she surrender all attempts at rational, logical thought, and
allow herself to just drift back into the peaceful realm of slumber. "I'm just
tired now. Maybe I'll remember tomorrow. Just go back to sleep." She pulled her
legs back up onto the bed and shoved them under the covers; then she rolled
over and pulled the blanket up to under her chin. "Goodnight, Kero-chan." And
she said no more.

A
few minutes later, her breathing had evened and deepened. The little magical
creature had long since picked up on such things as sure signs that his
Mistress was asleep.

But
rather than do as she said and return to the drawer that was his equivalent of
a bedroom, he flapped his wings a little, moved across the room, and lighted on
the pillow, careful so as not to wake her up again. Although he was sure that
she wouldn't stir, better to be cautious and not risk it.

He
watched her sleep for a moment, as he had done so many times before in the past
when something was troubling her. By all accounts, not remembering a dream that
had made her wake up screaming should have had her at the very least concerned.
But she seemed to be content; her expression as she slept was peaceful, and she
showed no signs of being disturbed in any way. It really hadn't bothered her
that she couldn't remember a dream.

Kero
worried. He wasn't a worrier by nature, but he had a tendency to worry about
Sakura a lot. From the time they had met, after she had opened the Book of the
Clow and unwittingly dispersed the Cards, through everything up until now, he
had always worried about her. Her health, her grades, her
spirits, her heart, her happiness, and, on a few rare occasions, her sanity.

And
right now, Kero was worried, though he wasn't exactly sure why.

It
might have been the dream that she couldn't remember. But it might not have
been.

The
sound of the alarm rather rudely dragged Sakura from a particularly pleasant
sleep. She hadn't been dreaming, that was for sure.
When she dreamed often during the night, she never woke up feeling rested. But
now, though she didn't want to wake up, as she stretched and rubbed her eyes,
she realized she felt great, in spite of that dream.

That
dream. She was a little amused to realize that she thought of it as such. That dream.

The
dream she knew she had had, but couldn't remember to save her life. All she
could remember was that she had been in the park, and frightened. Very frightened.

But
fretting and dwelling over it wasn't going to make her remember
anything. Best to not think about it right now, and focus on more
important
things. Like getting to school on time.

Shrugging
the blankets away, she scampered out of bed and across the room to her closet,
where her school uniforms were. Sometimes it was still strange to think that
she was already in high school. The uniform was the same one her brother had
worn when he went to Seijuu High, only the feminine version.

Sakura
ran a brush through her hair, and scampered downstairs to put some breakfast
together for herself and Kero. As the door closed behind her, the bottom drawer
of her desk slid open, and a small animal popped its head out.

"Geez,
you're too energetic this morning," he muttered, rubbing at his eyes. "Weren't
we going to talk about that dream?" Then he realized that she wasn't there.
"Oi, Sakura!" He flew out of the drawer, pushed down on the doorknob to open
the door, and zipped down the stairs into the kitchen, where his Mistress was
humming to herself as she mixed some pancake batter.

"Ohayo,
Kero-chan," she beamed at him with her usual good nature. It was one of those
things she had never lost—Sakura had retained her ever cheerful demeanor. And Kero
was grateful for it. She was much easier to deal with when she was happy.

"Sakura,
remember? We were going to talk about that dream you can't remember?" the Beast of the
Seal landed on the counter by her elbow and looked up at her inquisitively.

"What's
to talk about? I told you what I remember," she shrugged, pouring batter into
the pan. It bubbled and made a strangely pleasant hissing noise as it sizzled a
bit. "What can we discuss about it if I can't remember it?"

"It's
just not like you to not remember dreams," Kero pointed out.

"I
know, I know, and I know I should be worried," she said calmly. "But for some
reason, I'm not. Who knows, maybe I'll remember something else as the day goes
on." She looked down at the browning batter in the skillet. "I'll ask
Syaoran-kun and Eriol-kun if they picked up anything strange. Maybe they'll
know something. So don't worry so much." She smiled. "I think I was the only
one in the dream, though. I don't think anyone from my family was there."

She
flipped the pancakes. "Do you want some?"

With
a sigh of defeat, Kero nodded. Sometimes teenagers were just impossible, even
Sakura.

"Ohayo, Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura said cheerfully, all but bouncing into the
classroom.

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo replied, waving at her best friend as she
entered the room.

"I
haven't seen them, but that doesn't mean they're not here," Tomoyo replied,
absently twisting a strand of long, dark hair around her finger. "What do you
need to ask them?"

"I
had a dream last night, but I can't remember it," the auburn-haired young woman
shrugged and fished a pencil from her bag. "I just want to see if either of
them picked anything up. That's all."

"It's
not like you to forget your dreams," Tomoyo said in an echo of Kero's opinion
from earlier. "But I'm sure if something happened, those two will be able to
help."

As
if on cue, a tall young man strolled in. Predicatably, he was holding a rather
large book in front of his face, obscuring it. But that was normal.

Sakura
giggled. "Eriol-kun, do you ever stop reading?"

He
lowered the book enough that he could peer over the top of it at her. His eyes
danced behind his glasses. "Why? Is there something better going on?"

"I
need to ask you a question. It's kind of important, I think."

Immediately,
he closed the book and dropped into the desk behind Tomoyo—which, ironically
enough, was his true seat. He set the volume—which was extremely thick, to
Sakura's mind—down on the top of his desk and then focused his full attention
on her. "What's wrong?"

"I
had a dream last night," she began. "And I don't remember much of it. Not
enough to be able to tell what's going to happen, anyway. And before you ask,
yes, I'm sure it was one of those
dreams. Did you sense anything? Anything at all?"

He
tapped his chin thoughtfully with one finger as he thought back; slowly, he
shook his head. "I don't remember anything. But that doesn't mean it wasn't
there. I mean, we're only human." His forehead creased as he pondered it.
"Well, now you've got me curious." He shrugged. "I don't think anything
happened. But if something comes up, you'll be the first to know." He picked up
the book and opened it, then paused. "But it's really not like you to forget
dreams."

"Would
everyone stop saying that? First Kero-chan, then Tomoyo-chan, now you," Sakura
threw her hands up in mock annoyance. "If Syaoran-kun says it, I might have to
strangle him." She made a fairly decent attempt to look menacing, earning a
laugh from her friends.

The
door slid open, and another young man entered. "Ohayo," he said automatically
as he dropped his bag on his desk and dropped into his seat. He ran a hand
through his shock of brown hair and sighed. It was then that he realized
everyone's eyes were on him. He glanced around, suddenly looking very much like
a deer caught in a car's headlights. "Nani?"

"I
had a dream, one of those dreams,"
she emphaszed the word 'those,' as she had before with Eriol to make certain he
knew what she was talking about, while at the same time preventing others from
being able to know what she meant.

He
immediately looked concerned. "What was it about?"

"I
was in the park, it was night, and I was scared," Sakura said shortly. "That's
all I can remember about it. So I wanted to know if you knew of anything."

One
brown eyebrow arched. "It's not like you to forget your dreams."

With
a little growl of feigned anger, she threw a ball of wadded-up notebook paper
at him; it bounced off his forehead. Eriol and Tomoyo laughed, while Syaoran
looked genuinely confused. Had he done something wrong?

The
teacher came in then, and all conversation came to a screeching halt as class
began. But as Eriol turned his attention towards the instructor at the front of
the room, a presence brushed his mind.

:There was something.:

He
managed to keep from jumping outright, but instead replied, :What happened: Out of the corner of his eye, he shot a glance at the
mental speaker.

Li
Syaoran met his sideways glance carefully. :I'm not sure.:

:What do you mean:

Syaoran's
eyes drifted forward, not betraying the mental conversation that was flying
through the air by means of a magical connection. His expression was neutral,
and the voice that floated into Eriol's mind was equally flat, deceptively
calm. :I can't
remember my dream either.:

Eriol
stared straight ahead. Everything about him gave the impression that he was an
attentive student, engrossed in the teacher's lecture, carefully logging every
nuance of information away to be gone back over later. But this was merely an
illusion. He had long since mastered the art of not paying attention while
making it look like he was. It really wasn't that hard.

This
was a history lecture, something Eriol could have quite easily done without.
After all, he had actually lived through many of the events covered in these
classes—in his past life, of course. Although some days it was amusing to
listen to the lecture or read the text and see what they had gotten right and
which parts had been butchered, today was not one of those days.

Sakura's
story had been troubling enough, but Syaoran's had compounded it. Whereas
Sakura dreamed fairly often and rarely forgot what she dreamt, Syaoran's
foretelling dreams were much rarer, and he never
forgot them. Ever.

Every once in a while, he shot a sideways glance at
Syaoran and Sakura. The latter was
studiously taking notes on the teacher's lecture. Though Syaoran looked as
though he was paying attention to what was being said in the lecture, someone
who knew him well could read quite plainly that the young man was troubled, and
had far more on his mind than a review of some history book.

Why
wouldn't they be able to remember? The both of them, no less?
And yet he had experienced nothing, sensed nothing. Something was wrong here.

Ever
since returning to Japan, Eriol had settled into the routine of a calm, normal
life. Rarely were there opportunities or necessities for magic, and it was
quite nice that way. Oh, there were the occasional pranks on Li that required
him to make strange things magically appear, but even his practical jokes had
toned down a bit. It was nice for the reincarnation of Clow Reed to be able to
live his own life.

Yet
now it looked like the peace they had enjoyed for the past several years may be
in jeopardy. And somehow, Sakura and Syaoran were involved; they were definitely
going to be important to whatever was to come. He was sure of that. It was
everything else that was uncertain.

Lunchtime
could not possibly have come soon enough. A time of freedom, to sit, eat, and
talk with friends, with no teachers peering over one's shoulder in the middle
of an important conversation.

Eriol
had joined the rest of his classmates in the rush out of the classroom. But on
his way out, he managed to catch Syaoran's eye. The latter nodded, signalling
that a meeting had been set up without a single word being spoken between the
parties involved. And he had no doubt that the message would be passed along to
those who needed to know.

And
just as he had expected, within a few minutes he was sitting with Sakura and Tomoyo
as well as Syaoran; they were shaded beneath the boughs of their favorite tree,
their usual spot.

Tomoyo
and Sakura were their usually talkative, cheerful selves; it was quite evident
that Sakura was giving no further thought to her mysterious dream. Syaoran, on
the other hand, seemed fairly tense, obviously waiting for Eriol to say
something and let the axe fall.

And
Eriol was not one to disappoint.

"Syaoran-kun,
I would like to ask something that's been bothering me all day," Eriol began
conversationally. After all this time, the four of them were all on a first
name basis. He sounded like he was speaking of the weather or some such mundane
topic.

"Nani?"
Li's tone was equally calm, although his posture tensed up a bit more.

"Would
you please explain what you meant when you said that you couldn't
remember your
dream either?" Eriol asked. Having thrown it out into the open for
everyone to hear, he could now sit back and enjoy the fireworks a bit.

"Nani?"
Sakura yelped in surprise. She gave her boyfriend a confused look.
"Syaoran-kun, you had a dream too? Why didn't you tell me? I even asked!"

"Like
he said, I can't remember most of it," Syaoran shot a murderous glance Eriol's
way as he replied. "But it's didn't really bother me until after you said you'd
forgotten yours."

"It's
not like you to forget your dreams, Syaoran," Sakura said, half teasing for
everyone's earlier comments about her own nighttime visions. "But what do you
remember?"

He
set down his Bento box and crossed his arms; his brow knitted in thought as he
tried to remember everything he could about the mysterious dream. "It was
night, and I was outside. You know the trees around the park? I think that's
where I was, but I'm not sure."

Sakura
felt her blood run cold. This sounded vaguely familiar.

"I
couldn't see anyone around me, but there was someone out there. Hiding," he was
speaking slowly, as he dredged up every last detail he could from his memory.
"And it wasn't anything little, either. This thing was powerful, and evil. I
think I was even starting to get a little scared." He paused to think, and
after a moment, he finally sighed. "That's all I can remember."

Tomoyo
looked pretty concerned.

Eriol
looked somewhat skeptical.

Sakura
looked downright frightened.

Li
picked up his chopsticks. "So, what do you think?" he asked, popping some rice
into his mouth.

"I'm
really not sure," Eriol shook his head. "Sakura-san, what was your dream." But
when he looked over at the young Card Mistress, he was startled to see that she
had gone nearly white. Her hands were clenched into fists in her lap. "Sakura-san?"

"It
was the same, except I was by King Penguin," she said shortly, not lifting her
eyes. Suddenly, nobody wanted to talk much. The conversation pretty much died;
from that point on, lunch was a silent affair as everyone privately pondered
what it could all mean.

With
a sigh, Sakura let herself fall backwards onto her bed. She was relieved;
another day was over, and she was free for the night. Sleep sounded inviting.
For some reason, she was exhausted.

"Oi,
Sakura!"

Okay,
maybe sleep wasn't really an option. Kero was here, after all.

"Nani?"
she murmured, rolling over onto her side. She really wasn't in the mood to deal
with him full force, so she opted for letting him yell at and lecture her back,
rather than her face.

"Did
you figure anything out about that dream?" the Guardian Beast demanded. There
was a small amount of pressure as he lighted on the pillow next to her head.

She
closed her eyes. She had known he would bring that up, no matter how much she
didn't want him to. "Not mine. But I found out Syaoran-kun had a dream too."

"Oh?
What was his about?"

"He
can't remember either most of it either. But what he could remember was almost
exactly the same as what I could remember from mine."

Surprisingly,
there was silence. Sakura could almost feel Kero's surprise.

Finally,
he spoke. "Sakura…I don't think you realize how not good this really is," he
was speaking softly, which made her realize that he meant it. He was being
serious, and that happening tended to signify a big problem on the horizon.

Now
curious, she sat up and looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"If
it was just you, I might be able to accept it," Kero explained; his eyes were
closed, and there was no sign of his usual energy. "But the gaki doesn't
forget. He doesn't dream often, but he doesn't forget. And the same dream,
remembering the same parts? No, Sakura, this isn't normal. And it's not good."

"But
what does it mean?" she persisted.

"I
don't know."

The
conversation was interrupted when Sakura's cell phone rang. She was
beyond
grateful for the interruption, and immediately jumped up to answer the
call. "Hai?" She listened for a minute. "What do you mean, I
don't—" She stopped. "I understand. Are you sure?" Another pause. Kero
strained his ears, but he couldn't hear
anything from the other end of the line. Suddenly, she burst out, "You
can't!"
Silence again. "Okay. But don't go alone. I'll be there in five
minutes." She
pushed the button to turn the phone off, breaking the connection.

Kero
waited expectantly for some sort of explanation, but none came. Instead, his
teenaged Mistress began running around, grabbing an assortment of things: her
jacket, first, into the pockets of which she shoved her phone, her house keys,
and the book in which lived the Sakura Cards.

"Sakura,
what's going on?" Kero asked, but he was ignored as she ran around.

Finally,
she threw her Star Key out in front of her, and the magical circle flared on
the ground around her as the key began to glow.

Key which hides the power of the stars
Show your true form before me
I, Sakura, command you under our
contract
Release!

In a
flash, the key stretched itself out into the wand, and landed neatly in her
outstretched hand. Her mission apparently accomplished, she ran out of the
room, nearly knocking the door from its hinges by the force of her passing.

"Sakura!"
Kero zoomed after her, catching her just as she was halfway out the door. He
managed to dive in front of her, stopping her momentum. "Oi, what's going on?"

"That
was Syaoran-kun on the phone," Sakura explained hurriedly, as though she didn't
seem to think there was time for explanations. "There's something going on. If
you want to help, go get Yue-san and meet me at the park, okay?"

With
that, she ran past him; he literally bounced off her shoulder. Kero watched his
Master take off at top speed down the street.

"At
the park?" he repeated softly. Wasn't that where the dreams had happened?
Suddenly, Kerberos had a very bad feeling about what was going to happen. All
he could do was hurry.

It
was a clear night, complete with an enormous moon and billions of stars. By
that simple, natural illumination, Li Syaoran could clearly see around the
park. It was the same as always—the playground equipment stood tall and proud,
in stark contrast to the slightly waving trees that encircled the park.

His
eyes shifted back and forth with a hawk's glare. One was not a Li without
learning the ability to see things that the average person would miss, and
being able to use that knowledge. Furthermore, their senses were trained to the
highest possible use. Almost nothing could escape the scrutiny of a Li.

And
right now, Syaoran's senses were screaming. Every fiber, every nerve was alive
with tension. There was something out there, lurking, waiting, watching. Waiting for him. Watching him. And
whoever or whatever it was had shields up. They had magic, and they were trying
to hide it. But the shields themselves were borne of magic, and they made the
air tingle with a feeling that was almost electric.

A
twig snapped, and he jumped back, spinning to face the direction the sound had
come from. It was closer than he had thought. And he saw something—something
silver disappearing into the trees.

Without
really thinking of any except finding out what was going on, Syaoran began to
run. He gave chase, dashing through the trees into the small forested area that
surrounded the park. But whatever he was chasing was faster than he had
thought, and he soon lost it. He couldn't even find a trail.

Syaoran
slowed to a walk, then came to a stop. He was standing
below an opening in the treetops, a spot where the moon shone through to the
ground, bright as day. It was like standing in a spotlight.

Somehow,
that wasn't a very comforting thought right now.

His
hands tightened around the handle of his sword. Something was out there, and he
wasn't going to let it get away again. If he could only find
it. But he didn't want to make himself an easy target, like he probably
was right now, standing in the circle of moonglow.

He
was a Li. They were taught to be fearless. But no one at that moment, in that
situation, could have possibly been completely unafraid. Every tiny little
sound seemed to be amplified a million times over as it reached his ears; he
jumped at everything, something he normally wouldn't do. One hand fumbled for a
moment before his fingers finally closed around an ofuda. He had never before
wanted to just turn tail and run as much as he did at that moment.

And
this all felt strangely familiar. Like he had gone through
this before. But how? He didn't generally spend
a lot of time in the forest around the park. The swings were still one of his
and Sakura's favorite talking places, but otherwise, they really didn't
frequent even the park itself much anymore. So why in the name of Clow Reed
would this seem—

Syaoran's
blood froze. This had been his dream.

He
took one unconscious step backwards. There was no way he could handle this on
his own. Sakura had to be here by now. Together, they could easily wipe this
thing out. It was okay. He just had to get back to the playground, and it would
all be fine. Strange, though…he couldn't sense anything at all. Normally, he
could just sense Sakura or the plushie without even thinking about it. Now they
were nowhere to be found. It was almost like there was a shield thrown up
between them, or something…

That
thought fled his mind as he heard a rustle behind him. And the air prickled
with suppressed power. His eyes widened as the magic was suddenly let loose, at
what he guessed to be nearly full strength. And it was close—too close.

Li
Syaoran spun around—and barely had time to scream.

Kinomoto
Sakura skidded into the park, Star Wand in hand. Syaoran had said that he would
meet her there, and they would see what was up. But to her surprise, she didn't
see him anywhere. Normally, this wouldn't bother her a
whole lot, but right now, it was night, and Kero's warnings about the strange
dreams were still fresh and clear in her mind.

But
then reason decided to come back from its lunch break and go back to work.
Syaoran was trained and disciplined, but he did have an occasional tendency to
be a bit impulsive. Chances were that he'd gone off on some tangent somewhere,
maybe trying to chase something down. He would most likely be back soon, she
would chastise him gently, and they would get down to business.

So
everything really was okay, but the more she looked around, the more difficulty
she had in believing that. King Penguin loomed nearby. Usually a simple piece
of playground equipment, at that moment he looked menacing, foreboding. She
shivered inwardly, but quickly steeled herself. She wasn't a kid anymore, and
she was the Card Master. Why should she be scared of a slide?

But
so many things had happened in this park. From capturing Clow Cards to the
strange situations that had led her to change the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards,
Penguin Park had been the site of many a magical occurrence. That slide had
seen more than most normal people.

A
breeze brushed past her, scooping up a few dry leaves from the ground and
making them dance as they floated by. And suddenly, the air leapt to life. It
tingled with restrained magic. Someone nearby had extreme power, and it wasn't
an aura she recognized. She glanced all around her, searching frantically for
any sign of life or movement.

A
rustle in the trees caught her eye, and she spun in time to see something
vanish into the foliage. She didn't get a very good look at it, but she thought
it was silver. She waited, but saw nothing else.

And
it dawned on her that she couldn't sense any presences. Not
Syaoran's, not Kero's, not Yue's, not even Eriol's, and his was pretty
hard to miss, now that he wasn't hiding it all the time. Why couldn't she find
any of her friends? What was going on here?

She
was more and more beginning to doubt her plan to come here alone. She had
expected Syaoran to be there, but she should have thought things through a
little better, something she had never been very good at doing. Maybe she
should have brought Kero with her…Yue probably would have sensed what was
happening and come on his own. Or maybe she should have called Eriol before she
left. He could have gotten there in record time… Actually, that was something
she still could do. She had stuffed her phone into her pocket, just in case.

She
pulled the small pink cell out and dialed a number she had long ago memorized.
Slowly, she pressed the phone to her ear and listened as it rang.
Once…twice…three times.

Finally,
someone picked up the other end of the line. "Hai?"

Sakura
almost had to smile. "Nakuru-san, is—"

"Sakura-chan!"

The
Card Mistress held the phone a few inches away from her ear to save her
eardrums from being ruptured. She sometimes forgot just how loud Akizuki Nakuru
could be when she got excited. Gingerly, she eased the phone back against the
side of her head and spoke into it again. "Nakuru-san, is Eriol-kun there?
Please, it's important."

"Awww…"
the cherry-eyed Moon Guardian sighed in disappointment. "Yeah, he's
here. Hang on, I'll see if I can drag him out of the library. I think
he said he was reading a new book about medieval torture. Something
about needing new ideas to use on your little boytoy or something like
that."
Sakura made a mental note to smack Eriol. There was a sound, like a
door
opening. "Hang on."

There
was the sound of conversation—Nakuru high pitched bubbling, Eriol's slightly
calmer tone, and finally, he came on over the line. "Sakura-san?"

She
could have screamed with relief. "Eriol-kun, I don't have much time," she
dropped her voice to a whisper, glancing nervously around. The air was getting
heavier, and the feeling of wrongness was growing. "Come to Penguin Park. Now. As
in put the book down, put being evil on hold for a little while, and run.
I need help."

"What's
wrong?" he sounded concerned. She could hear noises in the background; it
sounded like he was running already.

"I'm
not sure. But there's something here. Just hurry."

"I'll
be there in five minutes or less, or the next one's free," he joked, but his
voice was serious.

"Arigatou."

A
push of a button ended the connection. She pocketed the phone and heaved a sigh
of relief. Help was on the way. All she had to do was wait
for Eriol to get here, and Syaoran to come back—

She
paused halfway through that thought. Where was Syaoran, anyway? She'd been here
for a decent amount of time, long enough for him to have come back a dozen
times. What if something was wrong? What if something had happened to him? What
if—

A
yell pierced the night air, making her jump in midthought. At the same instant,
the magic that had been prickling in the air suddenly peaked, as though someone
had let loose their power, and then it vanished again, as though once again
dampened.

She
spun to face the direction from which the sound had heralded, but she saw
nothing. There were no further sounds; the cry had only trumpeted for a couple
of seconds before being cut off, and the sound had almost instantly faded into
the night, leaving only the silence of the grave.

Sakura
gripped her wand so tightly that her knuckles began to ache. What had she seen?
Where was the magic coming from? And where was Syaoran? She didn't like being
alone, not in this kind of situation. And why did this feel so strangely
familiar…it was like déjà vu, she had experienced this somewhere before…but
where…

Realization
hit, and she gasped. Just like the
dream…what I remember of it.

She
couldn't remember exactly what was to happen, but she knew that it was nothing
good. And the more she thought about it, trying desperately to recall what
would become of this, the more sick she felt. Whatever
would happen tonight, it wasn't good.

There
was a was a sound nearby—the rustling of tree branches
and bushes as something moved amidst them. Then something flew through the air,
flying right at her. It was moving fast, fast enough that she had to literally
jump back out of the way. It missed her by a scant few inches, landing with a
loud crunching sound on the ground beside her.

She
instinctively grabbed a Card and held both it and her Star Wand out in front of
her, ready to defend herself against anything that
might decide to attack her. Her eyes landed on the thing that had nearly
crushed her, the missile launched from the nearby bushes.

For
a minute, it didn't register what it was. But finally, her eyes were able to
discern the crumpled mass. Her brain didn't seem to want to work at first. But
realization came in a flash as she noticed an object on the ground beside the
heap. A familiar object.

She
dropped both Card and Wand; the latter clattered against the pavement as it
struck the ground. Her hands flew to her mouth, barely getting there in time to
stifle the heartwrenching shriek that tore out of her mouth. She stumbled
backwards in a panic, but she tripped and ended up falling flat on her back;
still she dug her heels into the ground and pushed, in a frantic effort to put
more distance between herself and the heap on the ground before her.

Her
hand flailed, feeling desperately along the ground for her Wand. She kept her
other hand clapsed tightly over her mouth to prevent much more sound from
escaping. But her voice had become almost incapable of producing anymore noise.
Finally, her hand bumped into something, and she quickly grabbed it, feeling
the narrow pole of her Star Wand against her palm.

But
her eyes remained glued to the horrible sight before her. Her hand dropped away
from her mouth a few inches, enough for her to stammer a single audible word.

"S-Syaoran-kun…"
Her voice cracked on the last syllable as the first sob broke through.

It
was. Li Syaoran, in his traditional robes, sprawled in an untidy mess on the
concrete; his sword was on the ground beside him. The blade was spotless, and
it looked like he really hadn't had a chance to use it. Sakura ran to his side
and rolled him over onto his back. He was covered in blood, most likely his
own; a thin trickle of blood was running from one corner of his mouth down his
chin. His eyes were half open, and staring blankly towards the sky.

Waves
of nausea slammed against her; she felt sick to her stomach. The sobs came
harder now, uncontrollable. She pulled him close, heedless of the blood, and
cried and cried. Her heart wasn't broken—it was annihilated, smashed into a
billion miniscule pieces that no amount of time or healing would ever be able
to pull back together. Her partner, her friend, and her
love—gone. Stolen away from her by something that she
didn't have a name or face for.

It
was reaching far beyond the unfair. Was this punishment for something? Had she
done something so terribly wrong that she was condemned to this? She really
didn't know. All she could really do was let her heartbreak and grief pour out
in a seemingly endless flood of bitter tears.

But
finally she lowered the lifeless body to the ground, taking great pains to lay
him out carefully, with the dignity he had always been so careful to safeguard
while he had been alive. She took one more look at his face, feeling her
shattered heart attempt to keep beating, and then raised one hand and gently
lowered his eyelids over the unseeing eyes.

Still
crying, she rose to her feet and looked around through watery eyes. Where had
the bastards gone? She knew they were still nearby, but where were they hiding?
And why was this situation so horribly, terribly familiar to her?

Suddenly,
she remembered. It hit her in a flash, like lightning. Why she remembered it
then, she didn't know, but it didn't matter. She knew. She knew.

This
had been the rest of her dream. Down to almost every detail.

Which meant…

Too late to do anything.

A
white light erupted behind her; she whirled, already knowing what was coming.

This
had been her dream, her vision, her foretelling. She had foreseen her own
death. And now here she was to face it. Alone.

The
light shot towards her. There was no time to run or to defend herself. Even if she tried, she doubted it would do any
good. She knew what would come of this.

She
was engulfed by the blinding whiteness in a heartbeat. But
there was something that hadn't happened in the dream—pain. There had
been pain in the dream, but nowhere near this level. This was mortal agony. The
light was flames, a white-blue blaze, swallowing her whole. It seemed to meld
with her flesh, melting into her, like a wild animal devouring her alive. Even
the air in her lungs burst into that white-hot fire. Time stretched out as her
perception of it was skewed. A second ran into a century; they were one and the
same, and the pain seemed neverending.

Sakura
heard an unearthly sound then. A terrible, high pitched sound,
like the last screech of a fallen angel. After hearing it for a moment,
though, she came to a frightening revelation: the shriek was being torn from
her own throat. It was her voice,
letting loose that unholy scream.

And
a voice broke into her mind, through the haze. :Farewell, Card Master.:

She
didn't have time to respond; she barely even had time to process the
implications of those three words, forced into her mind. The light vanished;
the fire went away. But the pain remained.

Kinomoto
Sakura fell, ending up in a heap on the cement. She could feel herself
bleeding.

Crumpled
on the ground, she pushed herself onto her back; even that small amount of
movement cost her so much pain. But she could see the retreating backs of their
attackers. She could barely make them out, though, through the red haze that
had clouded her vision. She couldn't even give any description of the figures
she saw leaving. A part of her was surprised that they had left, but another
part didn't seem bothered. Their mission was undoubtedly accomplished. Why
bother hanging around?

She
could hear other footsteps as well, but these were thundering towards her, not
away. But the people causing those footsteps were out of her range of sight.
She didn't know who it was.

"Sakura!"

"Sakura!"

"Sakura-chan!"

"Sakura!"

Four
different voices called her name. She recognized each of them, and her heart
dropped a little more with each voice.

Kerberos—in his full form, judging from the depth of
the voice.

Yue.

Tomoyo.

Touya.

They
were all here. And this was how they found her—a bloody heap, huddled on the
ground, unable to move without pain like liquid lightning searing through her.

She
hissed in pain as someone gathered her up and pulled her tight against them.
She forced her eyes open, and saw her brother's face, looking down at her. His
coffee-brown eyes were frantic with worry and fear. Beside
him, Kero-chan, with a similar look of panic. Tomoyo, crying. And Yue,
who actually looked frightened. She had never seen her somber Moon Guardian
like that…

"Onii-chan…Kero-chan,"
she said each of their names in a voice hoarse from crying and screaming; the
words felt strange, like they were being physically forced from her throat.
Speech was difficult. "…Tomoyo-chan…Yue-san…"

"We're
here, we're here," Touya shushed her; his voice cracked.

"They—they
killed Syaoran-kun," Sakura felt another sob rising, but she didn't have the
energy to let it out. She was tired, so very tired.

Tomoyo
let out a little cry. Without thinking, she fell to her knees and slid one arm
under the lifeless shoulders, pulling the unmoving form closer. She just had to
look at him to know it was true. He was gone. One of her best friends was
already gone. And the other…

The
other was dying.

"Sakura,
what happened?" Kero demanded. "Who did this?"

"Not…sure…"
she gasped. "I didn't…see anything, and…I'm tired." She closed her eyes; it was
so much easier than trying to keep them open. "I'm really tired…sleep…"

"NO!"
Yue's voice yelled at her. She felt someone take her hand, and she lifted her
eyelids just enough to see who it was. It was, indeed, her Moon Guardian, his
usually expressionless face twisted into a rictus of worry and fear. He was
holding one of her hands tightly, as though maybe by holding on tightly enough
he could keep her there.

Something
warm and damp fell onto her cheek. She forced her eyes to open, and saw that it
was from her brother. Touya was crying. Sakura
had never seen her onii-chan cry. Her brother was too tough to cry. Yet here he
was, sobbing into her hair, holding her as tightly as he could. And she didn't
even feel the pain anymore. She was almost entirely numb.

"Onii-chan,"
she started, but suddenly, her tongue took on a life of its own. She didn't
control the words that came out of her mouth. "This isn't goodbye forever."

Those
gathered around her stared at her.

"Things
will be difficult for a while, but you have to be strong. It won't last
forever. This is goodbye, but only for a while," Sakura intoned as her vision
waivered. She could see a light floating above her. It was so beautiful, so
very beautiful.

"What
do you mean?" Yue demanded; his voice actually cracked. He had lost one Master,
one he loved, and now he was about to lose another, one he had come to love. It
was almost too much to deal with for the Moon Guardian…

Sakura's
eyes took on a peculiar shimmer to them—a distant look. "Ten years."

Kerberos
was frantic. "Ten years? Ten years what?"

"Ten
years," she repeated calmly; she couldn't say anything else. "Ten years. Ten
years." That was all she said, growing softer with each repetition, until
finally her lips moved, but no sound came out. Her eyes fluttered closed. The
hand Yue held clenched into a fist, then relaxed, and fell limp in his grasp.
Her chest rose; the breath held, and she shuddered as she let it out. There was
no further movement.

Touya
gave his sister a shake, sobbing, crying her name, but it was to no avail.

Kinomoto
Sakura was dead.

A
few yards away, Tomoyo was cradling the body of Li Syaoran. They had both been
taken, her two best friends. She held the unmoving form close and cried.

Footsteps
came thudding closer. No one looked up as three figures came sliding to a halt
beside the group of mourners. One normal-looking person, a
second, taller person with butterfly wings, and a third creature that looked
remarkably like an enormous black panther, also with wings sprouting from its
back.

Eriol
had opened his mouth to say something, most likely something containing a large
number of curses, but the words died on his tongue at the sight before him.

Li
Syaoran. His traditional robes blood-soaked, his head hanging
at an extremely unnatural angle, and a thin trail of blood running from one
corner of his mouth. His eyes were closed, and Tomoyo was cradling his
head, sobbing as though her heart was broken.

And Sakura.
Equally blood drenched. Sprawled lifelessly in her older
brother's arms. Touya was crying. Kerberos was crying. Yue's back was
turned, his hands clenched into fists at his sides; it was doubtful that he was
crying, but everything about his posture suggested misery.

"What…happened?"
Eriol said in a strangled voice.

"We
don't know," Yue was the one who answered, surprisingly enough. His voice was
strained in a way strongly reminiscient of the day Clow had died. He was still
kneeling on the ground, one of Sakura's lifeless hands still held in his own.
"We got here, and they were both…like that."

Kerberos
took over; he more than anyone sensed that Yue was actually reaching a breaking
point. "Sakura was still alive, but the ga—Li was already dead."

Ruby
Moon started to cry, and Spinel hung his head.

"So…no
one knows what killed them?" Eriol asked. He suddenly felt very faint.

Kero
shook his head mutely.

"She
said something before she died," Tomoyo hiccuped suddenly. "Sakura-chan, I
mean. But it was strange. It didn't make sense."

"What
did she say?" Eriol demanded. For the first time in all the time that anyone
there had known him, he looked…well, lost. Confused. As though he really didn't know what to do next. And chances
were that he really didn't.

"Ten
years…" Touya murmured, holding his sister closer.

It
would be the last time he would ever do so.

AN: Candyland looks around
eagerly Well, what did you all think? Good so far, bad so far? What, what?
Tell me, I want to know! And remember, this is only the FIRST chapter. That
means that there's a lot more to this story then just what happened. So don't
kill the author just yet!

Well, I think it only fair to
tell y'all that this is more of a teaser
than anything else. I'm up to my elbows in my other fics, and I don't like to
have more than one major fic going at the same time. Yet right now, I've got three. So…yeah.
Let me know what you think of my first chapter, pretty please, and maybe, just
maybe, I'll update again within a reasonable amount of time.

Actually, before I make that
kind of promise, I think we might need to iron out a clear cut definition of
'reasonable.' I spent over two weeks on this chapter alone. Then again, I
hadn't expected it to end up being anywhere near this long! Whew! Also, let's
consider something: I go nuts if I don't update for too long.

I have a vague outline of
what will happen in the coming chapters. Yes, I tend to outline my fics.
Otherwise I completely lose track of what's supposed to happen or what needs to
happen, and then I go crazy…er... But I still take suggestions, thoughts,
ideas, and constructive criticisms. Anonymous
flames will be used to keep warm, as I live in Iowa, and we're due for a blizzard this weekend.

Wow, this was a long,
rambling author's note. Is anyone still reading this thing? If you are,
congratulations! You win the fabulous prize—I'll email it to you as soon as I
figure out what the fabulous prize is, though. It might take a while…

Until next time, wuvs! Ja ne!

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.